Dmitrij Pruglo Unplugged: Day In The Life Of a FinTech CEO

Dmitrij Pruglo, CEO of software solutions provider Finyard, represents a dynamic new era of leadership in the rapidly evolving world of FinTech. But behind his visionary ideas and relentless drive lies an authentic, grounded leader navigating daily realities like anyone else.

In this intimate look at Dmitrij Pruglo’s typical day, we gain insight into the work habits, lifestyle priorities, and personal interests that fuel one of FinTech’s brightest rising stars.

 

Balancing Family and Work 

 

Dmitrij consciously starts each day spending quality time with his loving family over breakfast instead of instantly checking his phone. He understands this grounding morning routine with his children fortifies his reservoir of patience and perspective before diving into his influx of CEO duties.

After cherished family bonding, Dmitrij seamlessly transitions into executive mode. His iPhone delivers the latest overnight project updates, notifications demanding urgent attention, and a multitude of inputs requiring decisions as the man steering Finyard’s rapid growth. Though hoping for quiet nights, Dmitrij knows even the most robust enterprise software can unexpectedly falter. He takes disruptions and critical issues needing swift assessment in stride.

Managing An Overflowing Schedule 

 

Upon arriving at the sleek Finyard headquarters, Dmitrij’s calendar dictates his next 12+ hours down to the minute. Back-to-back meetings, strategy calls with global clients, board presentations on new platforms, and employee check-ins leave virtually no blank spaces before he rejoins his family.

A barrage of Slack messages and impromptu team “huddles” further pack Dmitrij’s schedule. But he insists “ad-hoc interaction should never disrupt progress.” Despite the firehose of stimuli, quick yet informed decision-making is vital to keep multiple initiatives progressing. Dmitrij adeptly navigates this sea of views and data points before charting direction. He pools trusted advisors’ guidance, aiming for choices that yield maximum impact versus time invested. “Evaluate potential return on time,” he urges other leaders facing information overload.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

 

Between tightly-booked meetings, Dmitrij walks the office floor, connecting with employees across departments. He believes understanding technical challenges, client needs, project workflows and team dynamics at the ground level fosters trust in leadership and accelerates progress. These personal interactions, though brief, help him lead by example regarding transparency, mission alignment, and cross-functional coordination.

Dmitrij also understands first-hand executive support clears barriers for staff. He makes himself readily available to engage directly with teams needing high-level guidance or resources. “I provide immediate value whenever possible,” notes Dmitrij. “Leaders must empower innovation, not hinder it.”

 

Recharging After Hours 

 

After powering through another 2+ hours of family connections that replenish his soul, Dmitrij returns to work post 9pm when most external demands won’t disrupt cherished personal time. He spends about 2 hours clearing his endless backlog; handling piled-up emails, tying loose ends on projects awaiting decisions, addressing lingering staffing issues, and returning non-urgent calls before another 12+ hour docket commences.

To restore mental clarity and recharge for the relentless pace, Dmitrij prioritises walking 5+ km nightly for stress relief and reflection. He also squeezes in language lessons during the workweek and gym sessions when the rare opening permits, recognising finding personal time requires ruthlessness given his overloaded CEO schedule. “Balancing priorities remains an ongoing challenge,” he acknowledges.

 

The Biggest Challenge: Building An All-Star Team 

 

As Finyard rapidly scales into an international force, Dmitrij’s most pressing human capital challenge is architecting an elite leadership team that aligns culturally and can sustain momentum during exponential growth. He knows discovering not just superb creative thinkers and technical experts, but loyal culture carriers and versatile managers capable of evolving alongside Finyard’s meteoric global rise is no small undertaking.

Dmitrij has witnessed even the most rigorous recruitment methods and seemingly flawless hires subsequently underdeliver, lacking the intrinsic drive, emotional intelligence or value alignment needed to excel. “Present skill means little without shared vision and purpose,” he notes. 

To manifest his goal of a passion-driven, loyal dream team that breathes Finyard’s maverick, mission-led spirit, Dmitrij recognises he must look deeper than credentials into character, motivations and leadership fit. 

 

Overcoming Future Barriers

 

For Dmitrij, surmounting the next scale of barriers as Finyard disrupts global markets begins with the tribe gathered today – united more by shared beliefs in their collective potential than credentials, titles or domains mastered. 

He knows a relatively small group propelled by common cause can achieve exponentially more than fragmented groups 10x its size. With such a capable posse of heart-centred innovators already onboard, he sees no obstacle as insurmountable.

 

Maintaining Health and Perspective

 

Reflecting on his daily tightrope walk across urgent issues, operational oversight, long-term strategy, complex decisions, and personal needs, Dmitrij considers how to sustain effectiveness across all fronts amidst unrelenting demands and ambitious growth plans.

He grudgingly accepts temporarily deprioritising some personal interests in the short term as Finyard strengthens systems and infrastructure to scale responsibly. But Dmitrij sets a 2-year horizon to recapture balance across work, family nourishment, and self-care to prevent burnout. 

He understands that just as home life cannot thrive with neglect, allowing his own energy reserves to drain irreparably also puts Finyard’s future at risk. World-class execution over decades demands both human sustainability and relentless progress go hand-in-hand across the marathon.